Designed To Be Awake

Episode 4: Fully Surrendered to the Situation

Episode 3: Kingdom of Heaven

What if the Kingdom of Heaven wasn’t a place you had to earn—but a presence you could return to?
In this episode of Designed to Be Awake, I share what it means to surrender the ego’s need for control and drop into the deeper wisdom of your body and spirit. Inspired by Eckhart Tolle, I explore the difference between planning from fear versus allowing from presence—and how the “right” answers often arise only when we stop trying so hard to find them.
I talk about what it means to feel the body’s “yes,” how the nervous system plays a central role in spiritual clarity, and why discomfort is often a sign of growth. Through personal reflection and client stories, I invite you to consider that what you seek is already here—and the journey is about remembering, not achieving.
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or like you’re still trying to “figure it all out,” this episode offers a simple but radical shift: come back to your body, your breath, your now.
You were never meant to control everything. You were designed to be awake.
In This Episode:
The deeper meaning of “Kingdom of Heaven is within you”
Nervous system regulation as a spiritual practice
Why your body is the best barometer for truth
Letting go of over-efforting and trusting the flow
Healing doesn’t always feel good—but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong
How to build a life that arises from presence, not panic
Resources Mentioned:
Loving What Is by Byron Katie
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
Eckhart Tolle
Michael Brown
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Chögyam Trungpa
💫 Subscribe & Connect:
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you. Subscribe and leave a review, or submit a question or reflection for a future episode at https://mickkubiak.com/
🎧 Produced by Chase Coughlin
🎵 Music by Chase Coughlin
🌟 With support from Regina Evangelista & Maia Young
 

Episode 2: A Healed Mind

What would your life look like if you stopped trying to control it? In this episode of Designed to Be Awake, I explore the life-changing idea from A Course in Miracles: “A healed mind does not plan.” This doesn’t mean we don’t take action or show up fully—it means we stop trying to control outcomes from a place of fear, and instead live from trust, presence, and inner alignment.
I share a deeply personal story about a moment in my life when I realized my body was screaming “no” to the life I was living—how I left a job that was burning me out, how I navigated financial fear, and how I began rebuilding from a place of truth instead of trauma.
We talk about what it feels like to be guided, how your body can become your spiritual GPS, and how powerful it is to stop overriding your intuition just to meet society’s expectations. I also speak about the I Ching and how it became an unexpected teacher and mirror for my inner world.
If you’ve ever struggled with chronic planning, overthinking, or gripping too tightly to your “shoulds,” this episode offers both a soft landing and a bold invitation: to trust yourself and experiment with a new way of being.
You were never meant to push your way through life. You were designed to be awake.
In This Episode:
What “a healed mind does not plan” really means
Listening to your body when it says “no”
How fear of financial ruin can be a spiritual awakening
The role of intuition, the I Ching, and living moment to moment
Releasing control as a trauma response
Honoring your design and building a life that fits
Resources Mentioned:
A Course in Miracles
The I Ching (Book of Changes)
Richard Wilhelm as the translator/author to the I Ching
A Guide to the I Ching by Carol Anthony
💫 Subscribe & Connect:
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you. Subscribe and leave a review, or submit a question or reflection for a future episode at https://mickkubiak.com/
 
🎧 Produced by Chase Coughlin
🎵 Music by Chase Coughlin
🌟 With support from Regina Evangelista & Maia Young
 

Pilot: Designed To Be Awake

Welcome to the debut episode of Designed to Be Awake! I’m your host, Mick Kubiak—and in this first solo episode, I share the foundation of what this podcast is all about: the belief that human beings are inherently wired for awakening.
I explore the stories of two of my most influential teachers—Eckhart Tolle and Byron Katie—and how their dramatic awakenings offer a powerful reminder that enlightenment is possible in this lifetime. Through their teachings, and my own decades-long path of spiritual practice, therapy, meditation, and personal awakening, I’ve come to see how suffering becomes a catalyst for transformation.
This episode is an invitation to stop seeking outside yourself. You don’t have to join a group, travel to India, or spend years in meditation to wake up—you can begin now, by witnessing your thoughts, softening your reactions, and remembering who you really are beneath the stories.
In This Episode:
Why you are designed to awaken—and what that truly means
The transformational journeys of Eckhart Tolle and Byron Katie
What meditation taught me about thoughts, emotions, and identity
The power of self-inquiry and inner observation
Why spiritual awakening is not reserved for the few, but available to all
How love is not an emotion, but a state of consciousness we return to
If you’ve ever longed for freedom from the patterns that keep you stuck — this episode will feel like coming home.
 
Resources Mentioned:
The Work by Byron Katie
Loving What Is by Byron Katie
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
The Presence Process by Michael Brown
💫 Subscribe & Connect:
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you. Subscribe and leave a review, or submit a question or reflection for a future episode at https://mickkubiak.com/.
 
🎧 Produced by Chase Coughlin
🎵 Music by Chase Coughlin
🌟 With support from Regina Evangelista & Maia Young
 
You are not alone. You are not broken. You are designed to be awake.

Trailer: Designed To Be Awake